Golden Ao Island.
Inside Biyou Palace.
Sect Master Tongtian sat upright on the Pure Meditation Cushion, dressed in a black-and-white Eight Trigrams Daoist robe. Every so often, joy and delight flashed across his face.
He had just returned from Zixiao Palace after signing the Investiture of the Gods Scroll again. This time, however, he had not been as reluctant as before.
Just as Sect Master Tongtian and the other Sages had expected, although Dao Ancestor Hongjun had repaired the Investiture of the Gods Scroll so thoroughly that no one could tell it had ever been damaged,
the heavenly ordained karma originally upon the scroll could not be restored. A slight deviation had appeared.
As a result, the quotas for the Three Sects originally set upon the Investiture of the Gods Scroll could no longer be completely branded into karma.
Thus, in this Investiture of the Gods Calamity, who would be listed on the scroll and how many disciples from each sect would be listed could only depend on their own abilities.
Seeing events develop this way, Sect Master Tongtian said nothing, but inwardly, he felt utterly delighted.
The lot of you joined forces to bully me, Tongtian, back then. Well, now it's your turn to worry.
As Sect Master Tongtian sat upon the Pure Meditation Cushion and recalled Yuanshi and the Two Sages of the West in Zixiao Palace, he could not help laughing aloud.
After the signing had concluded, Heavenly Lord of Original Beginning, Zhunti, and Jieyin had refused to accept it. Setting aside their pride, they had begged Dao Ancestor Hongjun to intervene in the Investiture of the Gods and make Interception Sect disciples enter the scroll.
What kind of joke was that?
Were disciples of the Sect of Enlightenment so precious? Did disciples of the Interception Sect have to die in their place?
How could Sect Master Tongtian possibly agree? If Dao Ancestor Hongjun had not refused, saying that the calamity had already begun and karma and fate had been set, leaving no room for further arrangements,
Tongtian might have drawn his sword and slashed at the three of them on the spot.
Though they had not ultimately come to blows, Heavenly Lord of Original Beginning was not one to let things go. He had even come before Tongtian again, putting on the airs of an elder brother in an attempt to lecture him.
In the past, Tongtian naturally would not have talked back. But now that they had torn all pretense apart, Tongtian was no easy target. He immediately returned every insult in full, cursing Yuanshi until he was half-dead with rage.
"Hahaha! That felt great!"
The moment Qin Hong entered Biyou Palace, he saw his father sitting on the Pure Meditation Cushion and grinning foolishly. He immediately guessed part of the reason why.
"Dad, if you're happy, be happy, but don't laugh like that. You'll hurt yourself holding it in. If you want to laugh, laugh out loud!"
Hearing Qin Hong's words, Sect Master Tongtian's smile widened.
Whoosh!
Sect Master Tongtian rose directly from the Pure Meditation Cushion, walked over to Qin Hong, and affectionately rubbed his little head.
"My Hong'er is right. If you want to laugh, you should laugh loudly. This trip to Zixiao Palace was truly satisfying!"
"By the way, Hong'er, where did you go? Did you encounter any danger?"
As he spoke, Sect Master Tongtian crouched down, looking Qin Hong over from left to right and inspecting him inside and out.
Seeing that the lofty Saint Tongtian, untouchable in the eyes of outsiders, had become nothing more than a father before him, Qin Hong's heart warmed greatly.
"Ah, Dad, I'm fine. I was just too bored staying on Golden Ao Island, so I went out for a walk!"
Qin Hong said as if casually:
"Every great calamity in the prehistoric world causes damage. With this Investiture of the Gods Calamity, who knows how many people will die, or what the prehistoric world will become..."
"So I took the opportunity to go out and see the world!"
Hearing Qin Hong's words and seeing that he was indeed uninjured, Tongtian stood and nodded.
"Not bad. Ever since Father God Pangu created heaven and earth, both the Dragon-Phoenix Beginning Calamity and the Witch-Demon War shattered much of the prehistoric world..."
"Hong'er, you don't know this, but when I had only just taken form, the prehistoric world was unimaginably stronger than it is now!"
"Back then, the Dragon Clan was led by Ancestral Dragon, the Phoenix Clan was guarded by Yuanfeng, and the Qilin Clan had Shi Qilin. How powerful they were... Alas, it has all passed!"
"I thought the war among the Three Clans had already been terrifying enough, but who would have expected the later Witch-Demon War to be even more dreadful?"
"You have no idea. That battle lasted over ten thousand years. Blood flowed like rivers throughout the prehistoric world, and the land was littered everywhere with the flesh, bones, and corpses of the Witch Clan and Demon Clan."
"By the end, even your Aunt Saint Nuwa had no choice but to intervene twice. You cannot imagine the horrific sight when Mount Buzhou shattered and the prehistoric land collapsed. It was practically hell!"
"Your Second Uncle's Kunlun Mountain is tall and majestic enough, isn't it? But what did that amount to? Mount Buzhou was the pillar that held up the heavens."
"And Demon Master Kunpeng's Northern Sea—its waters were actually black, capable of absorbing the baleful qi of the prehistoric world. How miraculous was that?"
"Now that Hong'er is going out to broaden his horizons, that is a good thing. But you must pay attention to your safety!"
At this point, Sect Master Tongtian paused and placed his large hand on Qin Hong's little head again.
"With the Investiture of the Gods Calamity about to arise, even I, as a Sage, cannot predict or calculate how things will unfold. Hong'er, do not make your father worry..."
"I understand!"
Feeling the warmth of Sect Master Tongtian's large hand, Qin Hong shook his little head and rubbed against it. Though his voice was childish, it was firm.
"Don't worry, Dad. I have the twelve-petaled World-Ending Black Lotus bestowed by the Dao Ancestor!"
"A Supreme Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, and one specialized in defense!"
"In this prehistoric world, there are only a few who would want to hurt me and actually be capable of doing so!"
"Besides, if I can't beat them, don't I still have you? The son of Saint Tongtian, the young master of the Interception Sect!"
Qin Hong clenched his fists and put on a fierce expression.
"Let's see who dares hit me. Whoever does, I'll call you and Senior Brother Duobao over. Then all of you can back me up, hehe!"
Seeing Qin Hong's little face tilted upward, Saint Tongtian's smile deepened.
"That's right. You are Tongtian's son, the Young Sect Master of the Interception Sect. Who would dare touch you?"
"Humph. Whoever dares touch you, your father will bring the entire Interception Sect to vent your anger!"
"Our Interception Sect may not have much else, but we certainly have plenty of people!"
Although Sect Master Tongtian disliked conflict and, in the prehistoric world, merely protected Golden Ao Island and the Interception Sect, rarely leaving Biyou Palace without cause,
he was unlike Heavenly Lord of Original Beginning, who cared greatly for appearances and went around every day to receive the worship of all living beings.
Yet the Interception Sect's strength was undeniably real. Did they think the gathering of ten thousand immortals was just for show?
They were truly, undeniably, a core force.
If anything really happened to Qin Hong, Sect Master Tongtian would absolutely fly into a rage.
As Tongtian's son, Qin Hong could bully others. But if anyone touched Qin Hong, even a single hair, that was absolutely unacceptable!
Qin Hong was his reverse scale, and the reverse scale of the entire Interception Sect!
Saint Tongtian wanted to convey one message to everyone in the prehistoric world:
Touch him, and that was fine!
Touch Qin Hong, and you were simply courting death!
Hearing Sect Master Tongtian's words, Qin Hong grinned.
"Dad, everyone in the prehistoric world knows our Interception Sect has a lot of people. You don't need to show off in front of your son, do you? That wouldn't be very nice, hehe!"
"Heh, you little brat! You dare speak badly of your father?"
As he spoke, Sect Master Tongtian pretended that he was about to punish Qin Hong...
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